


Let subtleties take you where they will (and conclude that it will never be as far as you'd wished for)

by painting



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Established Relationship, Gen, M/M, Sickfic, Snapshots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-12-16 15:31:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11831658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/painting/pseuds/painting
Summary: “I think Keith is getting sick,” Lance says one morning over coffee, his expression sharp despite the early hour as the steam wafting up from his paper cup curls around his chin. The autumn sun is beginning to rise later and later, and its glow is making the room feel a lot older and more atmospheric than it actually is.“Lance,” Shiro says, looking practically sheepish, somehow sounding like he’s humoring Lance and teaching him a frivolous lesson at the same time. “Keith has been sick for almost a week.”





	Let subtleties take you where they will (and conclude that it will never be as far as you'd wished for)

“I think Keith is getting sick,” Lance says one morning over coffee, his expression sharp despite the early hour as the steam wafting up from his paper cup curls around his chin. The autumn sun is beginning to rise later and later, and its glow is making the room feel a lot older and more atmospheric than it actually is.

“Lance,” Shiro says, looking practically sheepish, somehow sounding like he’s humoring Lance and teaching him a frivolous lesson at the same time. “Keith has been sick for almost a week.”

“ _What?_ ” Lance asks. He’s absolutely incensed, but this time with the self awareness not to squawk in public at 7 A.M. on a Tuesday. He wonders if he must just be the worst boyfriend _ever_. He and Keith practically live together (practically. _Practically_ ).

How could he not notice something like that? Has he really been that unobservant?

“Yeah, really bad sore throat, that sort of thing,” Shiro explains. Anyone else would have said, _Yes, of course he has, can’t you tell?_ but instead all Shiro has to offer is an explanation and a look that says he feels a little guilty for outing his little brother like he did.

(Lance doesn’t know if they’re biological brothers. Neither of them really talks about it. He supposes it doesn’t actually matter.)

“Don’t feel bad,” Shiro continues. “It took me a long time to learn all of his tells. You’ll figure it out,” he promises. “It usually takes him a little while to come down with something.”

Viruses tend to hit Lance like a truck, hard and fast, zero to sixty in a matter of hours. He isn’t surprised that it’s different for Keith; for all they have in common, the two of them are opposites in more ways than he can count.

 

-

 

**LANCE (07:23)**

KEITH IS SICJK can u

**HUNK (10:41)**

?

**LANCE (10:41)**

?

**HUNK (10:42)**

you texted me like 3 hours ago lol

**LANCE (10:42)**

Omfg

I’m at work

Lol

Sorry

I was gonna ask

**HUNK (10:42)**

lol

**LANCE (10:43)**

If you can make him some soup or something I’m not

Done until 1 and then i have class

Ill pay you back somehow

**HUNK (10:43)**

aw yeah of course tell him to come over later

poor keith

haha “ill”

**LANCE (10:43)**

hsfkldshfalkhkh

LMAO

I love u

**HUNK (10:43)**

love you too :)

 

-

 

When Lance actually sees Keith in the flesh, it’s so obvious to him that he isn’t feeling well.

“Keith!” he calls, despite Keith being just a few steps away from the counter.

“Hey,” Keith says. His voice is softer, like his throat is sore. How did Lance not notice that before?

Lance reaches over and grips Keith’s shoulder, then runs his hand down Keith’s arm. It’s colder outside, barely 60 degrees, so Keith is wearing a jacket and Lance can’t feel his skin to see if he has a fever. He stops at Keith’s wrist, then grabs his hand. Keith squeezes back.

“Come over after class today,” Lance says. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“We hung out all day yesterday and you slept over last night,” Keith says.

“I _know_ ,” Lance says. “And I haven’t seen you since I left this morning? That’s kind of messed up.”

Keith rolls his eyes and smiles and says, “Oh my god.”

“Okay. But seriously,” Lance says. He lets go of Keith’s hand. “You’ll be there, right?”

“I was already planning on going over there today,” Keith admits.

Lance beams. “ _Good_ ,” he says.

“I have homework, though.”

“Okay. Okay, that’s fine. So do I. I’m done with everything at 3.”

Keith nods. “I know.”

Lance doesn’t know how to ask him if he’s feeling okay, how long he’s been sick, whether he needs anything, how he can be here and not upset at Lance for not realizing something was wrong. He knows Keith well enough to know that he probably didn’t _want_ Lance to know he was catching a cold, but that doesn’t make Lance feel any better about it.

 

-

 

**LANCE (13:12)**

Hey

I might need to stop at cvs

Do u need anything????

**KEITH (13:12)**

dont you have class now

why are you texting me

**LANCE (13:12)**

Do you need anything BABE????????

**KEITH (13:12)**

no i’m fine

babe.

…….

i just got done actually so i can go if you want

do you need anything?

**LANCE (13:13)**

Omg no babe its cool!!!!!!

Don’t worry about it

I’ll just see u after i,m done

**KEITH (13:15)**

why are you babeing me so much

**LANCE (13:15)**

Do you think it’s cute

**KEITH (13:15)**

yes

**LANCE (13:15)**

YOU DO!!!!!

**KEITH (13:15)**

go to class babe

 

-

 

Keith is waiting outside of Lance’s classroom when he’s finally freed of his responsibilities. Keith is leaning against the wall, staring at his phone and looking effortlessly, astronomically, _unfairly_ hot. He coughs purposely into his shoulder and Lance is immediately endeared.

Lance almost barrels into him as he walks against the flow of students on their way out of the building, and Keith leans into the contact.

“How long have you been waiting here?” Lance asks.

Keith shrugs and doesn’t answer the question. “I wasn’t going to walk back without you. We’re dating,” he says, in a sort of weird way that sounds matter-of-fact and a little unsure at the same time. Lance knows it’s not Keith’s first relationship, but it’s his first relationship _like this_.

“Yes! We’re dating,” Lance agrees, as if it’s news to him too.

“Do you still have…” Keith starts to ask, but he breaks off to cough again. “Sorry. Do you still have my Ethics textbook from last semester? I think I might need it for my next assignment.”

“Yeah, it must be somewhere,” Lance says. They open the door and step outside. The buzzing mid-afternoon campus and chilly, sunny weather remind Lance of the excitement he always felt getting dismissed from grade school for the day during the fall, when the new-schoolyear novelty still had yet to wear off.

 

-

 

“Pidge is here?” Lance asks loudly when he steps inside of his and Hunk’s shared apartment and sees her shoes by the front door.

“Pidge is here,” Pidge confirms. Lance can’t see her, but her voice is coming from the living room. “Hey Keith. That cough sounds absolutely terrible.”

“Hi Pid-- What?” Keith says.

“I could hear you outside,” Pidge says, still out of view as Lance and Keith set their things down, removing their jackets and shoes. “Are you sick?”

Rookie mistake, Lance thinks. If Keith had been sick and hiding it since last week like Shiro said, he likely wouldn’t be admitting to an accusation so blunt. He’d already asked Keith if he was okay and how he was feeling at _least_ five times. Maybe more. And Keith had deflected every single time.

“I don’t know. Maybe,” Keith says quickly. He looks uncomfortable, like he was caught in some heinous act and put under a microscope because of it. Like catching a cold is something to feel guilty about. Lance can’t believe what he’s hearing.

“You told me you were fine!” Lance says.

“I am fine.”

Lance groans and follows Keith into the living room, where he finds Pidge perched on the coffee table like a freaking weirdo. “What are you doing on the coffee table?” he asks her.

“Saving the couch for you and your sickly boyfriend, apparently,” Pidge says back.

“Get off of there! Use a chair! That table cost us--”

“Like, twenty dollars,” Hunk interrupts from his bedroom doorway. “It’s fine. Hey Keith. How are you?”

“Good,” Keith says, and what does he mean _good?_ He sounds so _genuine_ for someone who’d just admitted to being sick not even a few seconds ago. Lance pulls Keith down next to him on the couch, and within minutes Keith’s got his head on Lance’s shoulder and has promptly fallen asleep.

 

-

 

By the time Keith wakes up, Hunk has draped a blanket around him. Lance is lounging with his feet up on the coffee table while he plays a game on his phone. Keith stirs briefly and slides his head down to Lance’s lap.

Lance remembers seeing Keith fall asleep before they were boyfriends, with his head tilted down and arms crossed as he leaned with his back against the couch. He looks so much more relaxed now.

“Hey,” Lance says. His voice is soft and Keith murmurs some nonsense against his thigh to confirm that he’s awake. “Pidge and Hunk are working in a project in his room, but dinner will be ready in about half an hour if you’re still tired and want to sleep some more.”

Keith sits up. Lance notices the dark circles under his eyes when he reaches over to smooth out Keith’s hair. Keith lets him.

“How do you deal with having _this much_ hair?” Lance asks. “You’re going to get tangled.”

“It’s okay,” Keith says. He sounds horrible. “You can just untangle it for me.”

“I’m getting you something to drink,” Lance says, and he’s up before Keith can insist that he’s fine, or whatever.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” Keith admits.

“Don’t be stupid,” Lance calls from the kitchen as he turns the electric kettle on. “You must have needed it.” The kitchen and living room are separated only by a dividing counter, which Lance leans on so he can peer closer as his boyfriend squints and rubs his eyes. “Do you have a headache?”

Keith clears his throat and sits up a little straighter. When Lance returns from the kitchen with a bottle of Tylenol and a huge mug full of something hot, Keith doesn’t refuse.

**Author's Note:**

> i think i might might might (very "might") do another chapter, like, where keith actually crashes as his cold (or whatever it is) begins to plateau, but unless inspiration strikes i'll leave things as is. story without a climax is another one of my trademarks don't ya know


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